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Shingles and ShakesThe history of major fires in high-risk areas of California clearly shows that most residential structure losses are due to flying burning brands landing on combustible roofs. The wood shake and shingle industry has consistently argued that pressure treated wood shakes and shingles are firesafe roofing products. Historical fire facts does not support this position. The following represent a few of the numerous major fires since the mid-eighties involving wood shake and shingle roofing materials:
FACT 1: "Sea center museum Fire," City of Santa Barbara, CA, June 26,1986.
This fire involved a one-story museum building with a one-year old pressure impregnated Class B wood shingle roof. Weather conditions were very mild at the time of the fire incident. The wind speed was approximately nine miles per hour (9 mph), the temperature was 75oF, and the humidity was 70 percent. The fire destroyed approximately 60 percent of the roof area before it was extinguished by the fire department. Although the weather conditions were mild, flying burning brands were generated form the burning roof. Fortunately, there were no exposures on the downwind side of the fire.
FACT 2: "The Pain Fire," Santa Barbara County, 1990.
In 1990 the Santa Barbara area experienced a historical conflagration which destroyed 641 homes. As a result of that fire, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, supported by a FEMA grant, conducted an extensive investigation which included the development of a structural survivability analysis showing the following findings:
|
Characteristics |
Probability thatStructure Survived |
|
Untreated wood shake/shingle roof |
19% |
|
Nonwood roof (tile, composition roof) |
70% |
|
Less than 30 feet of defensible space |
38% |
|
At least 30 feet of defensible space |
78% |
|
No defensive action taken by firefighter or citizens |
31% |
|
Defensive action taken by firefighter or citizens |
83% |
|
Wood roof, less than 30 feet of defensible space, and no defensive action taken |
4% |
|
Nonwood roof, at least 30 feet of defensible space and defensive action taken |
99% |
FACT 3: "Malibu Fire Storm," November 1993.
The Old Topanga Canyon Firestorm in the Malibu area of Los Angeles County in early November of 1993 killed three people, destroyed 369 homes and damaged another 112, burned over 18,000 acres, and caused over $200 million in damage. The following is a quote from the "report to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors" by the wildfire Safety Panel, dated June 17, 1994:
| "Of paramount importance is providing noncombustible (Class A) roof cover assemblies. The present prohibition of wood shakes and shingles, regardless of class in the Malibu Zoned district, (Western county portion of fire Zone 4) should be expanded to include all of Fire Zone 4 and Buffer Fire Zone areas of the County. Evidence from the recent series of fires and other major fire storms in the state leads us to conclude that a majority of structure fires in the high-risk fire zones are ignited by embers landing on combustible roofs. Even though some manufacturers have developed a Class A rated wood roof assembly through chemical and other treatments, we believe there is not enough evidence available on weatherability and endurance of these highly specialized materials to allow them to be successfully employed in high-risk fire zone areas with a long-term performance guarantee." |
FACT 4: "Harmony Grove Fire," Carlsbad Section, October 21,1996.
The "Harmony Grove Fire" swept through part of the La Costa community totally destroying 54 homes and damaging another 142. Over 85 percent of the homes destroyed had wood shake or shingle roofs and represented over 83 percent of the $11.8 million loss. Total fire damage, including natural resources and improvements, was approximately $51.8 million. The following quote is taken from the City of Carlsbad’s public report on the disaster:
| "Nine million dollars, four dozen homes, horrendous devastation and emotional trauma might have been saved if these roofs had not been made of wood. The implications are more server: Wood roofs enabled the fire to continue on its destructive path, damaging structures (and the lives of people within them) that might have excaped unscathed. As one firefighter wryly remarked, having a wood shake roof is like covering your home with kindling." |
The report further states that as a result of the fire the City adopted an ordinance which prohibited the use of wood shake and shingle roofing materials. One interesting point made was that they had found that when various roofing materials were compared on a life cycle/cost-per-year basis, wood shakes and shingles were by far the most expensive.
PROHIBITION:
Because of the severe potential of fire spread throughout a neighborhood and beyond from flying burning brands from and/or onto wood shingle and shake roofs, many communities have prohibited the use of such roofing materials and others are reviewing similar actions. The following communities are among those that have prohibited the use of such roofing materials and others are reviewing similar actions. The following communities are among those that have prohibited their use:
|
City of Boulder, CO |
City of Los Angeles, CA |
|
City of Carlsbad, CA |
County of Los Angeles, CA - Fire Zone 4 |
|
City of Del Mar, CA |
City of Santa Barbara, CA |
|
City of El Cajon, CA |
County of Santa Barbara, CA |
|
City of Loma Linda, CA - High Haz. Areas |
City of Vista, CA |
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
A home is probably the single largest and most significant financial investment made by an individual or a family. The largest structural area of exposure to an exterior fire threat is the roof. For maximum protection from fire, the exterior of the roof should be covered with non-wood non-combustible materials, such as concrete or clay tile. This recommendation is based on:
DISCLAIMER: The Committee for Firesafe Dwellings assumes no liability for the use or misuse of this information, which is intended to provide guidelines for consumers in their selection of building materials and fire protection systems for their homes.